Managed 4 All Star Games for the National League (1999, 2011, 2013, 2015)

Bruce Douglas Bochy (/ˈboʊtʃi/; born April 16, 1955) is the manager of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to joining the Giants for the 2007 season, Bochy was the manager of the San Diego Padres for twelve seasons. He has led the Giants to three World Series Championships, and also led the Padres to one World Series appearance during his tenure in San Diego.

Bochy is the only former Padres player to serve as the team's manager. He has participated in all five postseason appearances in Padres history, as a backup catcher in 1984 and as their manager in 1996, 1998, 2005, and 2006. In 1998, he led the Padres to their first National League pennant in 14 years; they lost the 1998 World Series to the New York Yankees.

He reached the World Series for a second time as a manager in 2010 with the Giants, this time in a winning effort over the Texas Rangers, and brought the first ever World Series Championship home to the city of San Francisco. It was the first for the Giants franchise since 1954. Bochy returned to the World Series for the third time in 2012, also with the Giants, who won over the Detroit Tigers in a 4 game sweep. He reached the World Series a fourth time in 2014, and managed his third World Championship in 5 years, this time leading the Giants over the Kansas City Royals in seven games.

Bochy is both the first foreign-born manager to reach the World Series (1998) and the first European-born manager to win the World Series (2010). On July 23, 2013, he became the 21st manager with 1,500 wins.

As a catcher, Bochy played with the Houston Astros (1978–80), New York Mets (1982) and San Diego Padres (1983–87). In 802 career at-bats, he hit .239 with 26 home runs. With the Astros, he primarily backed up Alan Ashby.[6] Bochy was traded to the Mets on February 11, 1981, for two minor leaguers.[7] Two years later, he was released by the Mets and signed with the Padres as a free agent.[8] With the Padres, he was the backup to Terry Kennedy from 1983–86 and rookie catcher Benito Santiago in 1987.[9] In 1988, Bochy spent his final season playing in Triple-A Las Vegas where he served as a player-coach, batting .231 in 53 games.[10]

With the Astros, Bochy was behind the plate in Game 4 of the 1980 NLCS versus the Philadelphia Phillies when Pete Rose ran over Bochy to score the go-ahead run in the top of the tenth inning.[6] Bochy was the backup to Terry Kennedy when the Padres won their first NL pennant in 1984, and he played in one game in the 1984 World Series, which the Padres lost in five games to the Detroit Tigers. On July 1, 1985, Bochy hit a tenth-inning walk-off home run off Nolan Ryan of the Houston Astros, the only walk-off home run allowed in Ryan's career.[7][11] Bochy was behind the plate on September 11, 1985, when Pete Rose, now with the Cincinnati Reds, collected his record-breaking 4,192nd major league hit off Padres pitcher Eric Show.[12]

After retiring as a player, Bochy was hired by Padres general manager Jack McKeon to manage in their minor league system.[10] He started the 1989 season assisting the Class-A Riverside Red Wave before leaving to manage the Short-Season Class-A Spokane Indians, leading them to their third consecutive championship.[10] In 1990, Bochy took over as manager of the Red Wave, finishing with a 64–78 record.[13] In 1991, Bochy followed the team to Adelanto, California, where they became the High Desert Mavericks, and led them to a 73–63 record and California League title.[13] In 1992, Bochy was promoted to manager of the Double-A Wichita Wranglers, leading them to the Texas League title that year.[14]

After four years of managing for their minor league teams, the San Diego Padres picked Bochy to be the team's third-base coach under new manager Jim Riggleman in 1993.[15] Following the departure of Riggleman after the 1994 season, the Padres named Bochy as their new manager for the 1995 season.[16] At age 39, Bochy became the youngest manager in the National League and helped the Padres improve from 47–70 in 1994 to 70–74 in his rookie year.[17]

After several disappointing seasons, Bochy led the Padres to two more NL West titles in 2005 and 2006, but they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in the Division Series each year. After the 2006 season, new Padres CEO Sandy Alderson preferred to have a younger manager, so he allowed Giants General Manager Brian Sabean to interview Bochy for his job opening.[20] Bochy left the Padres for the Giants after the 2006 season.[21] He finished his Padres career with a regular season record of 951–975 and a post–season record of 8–16.[22] Bochy has the most games managed in Padres history and with that, the most wins and losses. In 12 seasons under Bochy, the Padres had five winning seasons and won four NL West titles and one NL pennant.

Bochy agreed to a three-year contract to replace Felipe Alou and become the Giants' new skipper on October 27, 2006.[19] After two seasons of 90+ losses in 2007 and 2008, the Giants rebounded to finish 88–74 in 2009, and remained in the playoff race into September behind a pitching staff with the second-lowest ERA in the majors.[23] After the season, Bochy received a new two-year contract with an option for 2012.[23]

In 2010, the Giants finished 92–70 and clinched their first NL West title since 2003 on the final day of the regular season against the Padres.[24] Underdogs throughout the postseason, Bochy's "bunch of castoffs and misfits" defeated the Atlanta Braves in the 2010 NLDS and the reigning National League champion Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS.[25][26] The Giants defeated the Texas Rangers in five games in the 2010 World Series, bringing the first World Series Championship to San Francisco and the Giants' first title since 1954 when the team was based in New York City.[27][28] Following the season, the Giants exercised Bochy's 2012 contract option.[28]

In 2011, the Giants finished 86–76 and missed the playoffs.[29] After the season, the Giants extended Bochy's contract through 2013, with an option for 2014.[30] In 2012, the Giants clinched the NL West for the second time in three years against the Padres, finishing with a 94–68 record.[31] In the postseason, the Giants fell behind the Cincinnati Reds 0–2 in the 2012 NLDS before winning three straight games to stave off elimination.[32] In the NLCS, the Giants fell behind the St. Louis Cardinals three games to one, but again won three straight elimination games to clinch their second National League pennant in three seasons.[33] The Giants swept the 2012 World Series against the Detroit Tigers in four games.[34] After the season, Bochy said the tagline for 2012 was "never say die".[35]

Before the 2013 season, the Giants extended Bochy's contract through 2016.[36] Bochy became the 21st manager with 1,500 wins on July 23, 2013.[37] The Giants finished the season 76–86 and missed the playoffs in 2013.[38] When Jim Leyland retired after the 2013 season, Bochy became MLB's active leader in wins with 1,530.[39] In 2014, Bochy became the 19th manager to reach 1,600 wins on August 27,[40] and also became the all-time NL Western Division leader in managerial wins, passing Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda for that distinction, since the installment of division play in 1969.[41]

Bochy is the third of four children.[1] His older brother Joe was a onetime catcher in the Minnesota Twins system and later worked as a professional scout for the Padres and Giants.[56]

Bochy met his wife, Kim Seib, while at Brevard Community College in 1975 and they married in 1978.[1] They reside in Poway, California and have two sons, Greg and Brett.[57] Greg Bochy spent several seasons playing minor league baseball in the San Diego Padres system. Bochy’s younger son, Brett Bochy, was drafted by the Giants in 2010.[58] Brett was called up to the majors on September 2, 2014, making Bruce the seventh manager in MLB history to manage his own son. On September 13, 2014, Bruce became the first manager to give the ball to his son coming out of the bullpen.[59]

Bochy is known for having one of the largest cap sizes in Major League Baseball.[1] With Houston, his nickname was "Headly," due to his unusually large head, with a hat size measurement of 81⁄8.[60] When he joined the Mets in 1982, they did not have a helmet that would fit him, and they had to send for the ones he was using in the minors.[61] On February 19, 2015, Bochy underwent angioplasty to have two stents inserted in a blood vessel that was 90 percent blocked.[62]

In May 2011, Bochy won the Ronald L. Jensen Award for Lifetime Achievement, which he accepted at Positive Coaching Alliance's National Youth Sports Awards.[63] In 2011, the baseball field at Brevard Community College was named Bruce Bochy Field in his honor.[64]